BEST version 6.2 available for download

The Hydronic Industry Alliance-Commercial (HIA-C), which promotes the use of water-based hydronic systems in buildings and is a committee of the Radiant Professionals Alliance (RPA), has released version 6.2 of its Building Efficiency System Tool (BEST), an interactive commercial building HVAC system efficiency comparison application.

This latest version focuses attention on energy use, including up to four selected systems in one life-cycle comparison report using historical design temperatures to determine peak energy demand and the energy utilization index (EUI).

The software uses data from projects throughout the U.S. and includes up to 10 building types per 1,000 U.S.-based locations, based on weather, load
and utility rates provided by trusted sources.

BEST 6.2 includes a Demand Energy Efficiency Ratio (DEER) tab to compare energy demand to existing efficiency ratings.

“This free tool can help determine the return on investment for building owners who are looking to have the most efficient building on the block or benchmark their
current use for long-range capital planning,” said Greg Cunniff, head of application engineering for the Hydronics Industry Alliance (HIA), the RPA
committee responsible for the development of BEST, in a media release.

First introduced in 2016, BEST solved a long-standing industry issue of being able to accurately compare different styles of HVAC systems in buildings, which are all tested to different standards, with various efficiency ratings (EER, IEER, SEER, COP, HSPF), as they are applied in an actual building.

To register and download BEST v6.2 for free visit: https://forms.iapmo.org/hiac/software_register.aspx